Dr. Eddie Glayzer’s former advisor, Dr. Andrea Louie, recalls how he entered the program with a developed focus—he wanted to study contemporary South Korean society, focusing specifically on gender and consumption issues. He demonstrated a knack for drawing from his real-life experiences in South Korea, first as an English teacher and later as a researcher, as a basis from which to engage with anthropological questions. His own experience of falling short in the celebration of Pepero day by buying his then-girlfriend an embarrassingly small box of the South Korean confection led him to study the relationship between consumption and intimacy for his dissertation research.
Dr. Glayzer’s dissertation, titled “The Commodification of Intimacy and Gender Inequality Within South Korean Dating Rituals”, is based on in-depth participant observation, interviews, and survey research in South Korea. His research focuses on how dating and courtship rituals in South Korea represent the commodification of intimacy—for example, in the form of monthly couples’ holidays that were celebrated through the consumption of specific products or participation in specific experiences. He concludes that unequal income between genders and classes affects how intimate relationships are expressed through consumption. Dr. Glayzer’s research shows that while one might expect economic growth in Korea would lead to increased gender equality, it has instead resulted in the retrenchment of gender norms and the creation of new inequalities.
Prior to completing his PhD in 2021, Dr. Glayzer taught at SUNY Incheon, DePaul University, and City Colleges of Chicago. Dr. Glayzer has recently accepted a position at the University of Dayton in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work.
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